Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Dunkirk should be reviewed to estimate when to plant calliopsis.

Planting Calendar for Calliopsis

Frost tolerance for calliopsis:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Calliopsis are not cold tolerant which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant calliopsis in Dunkirk is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant calliopsis and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your calliopsis may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your calliopsis indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Dunkirk. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dunkirk and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Dunkirk last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your calliopsis if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dunkirk

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Dunkirk

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Dunkirk.